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When Jack Morrison arrived at Angela’s office during a particularly grueling night of work, the last thing she expected her commander to say was, “I think you need a break.”It made the doctor laugh, despite the fact it almost hurt to bring forth that much energy after being awake for nearly twenty-four hours straight. “Do you think that word exists in my vocabulary, Morrison?”Jack’s eyes darted up and down, a concerned grin shaping his face. “Clearly not.” Angela took a sip of her black coffee, her nose scrunching at the coldness on her tongue. “What I do need is a hot coffee.” “Seriously, Ziegler,” Jack sighed, “just a little break.”Jack reminded Angela of her dad now and then. The same caring side, hidden behind a wall of sternness. The same paternal crinkle of the eyebrow. It brought a small smile to her lips.“Okay, but just to give you peace of mind.” Angela stood up from her chair for the first time in hours.Jack’s finger tapped against his bicep as he watched Angela stretch her sore limbs. The commander cleared his throat and said, “I heard the kid”—Cole—“talking about a good place to eat…Reek-ee-may-ru or something like that,” he began. “It’s close to Shimada Castle, so if you go, be mindful.”Angela shook her head to herself. The Shimada Clan was the only reason why they were stationed in Japan at the moment, to take them out for good. Yes, it was a criminal organization, but there were many more peaceful solutions to that problem. Instead, it was in Morrison and Reyes’ best interest to utilize the newly-formed Blackwatch for the mission. Angela had argued with them about it already but to no avail. “I’ll be fine,” Angela said dismissively.“Okay,” Jack said, “treat yourself, alright?” The automatic door to Angela's office shut with a clang when Jack turned his back, leaving her in the same silence she had been sitting in for many hours before.Angela shrugged off her lab coat, folded her glasses, and set them on her desk. She could see her reflection on the screen of the computer. Tired. Jack was right. She did need a break. Angela let her hair down, rubbed her eyes, and brushed off the traces of guilt that pinned her down.A quiet, relaxing time to yourself won’t be so hard, she told herself as she made her way to her living quarters. In fact, I’ll probably be thanking Jack after all of this is over.***Angela didn’t realize how late it was until she was walking alone in the near-empty streets of Hanamura, hugging herself from the chill of the night. Silence and emptiness didn’t bother her unless the silence and emptiness involved a city run by dreadful people, and Angela quickly found herself rushing inside the ramen shop in which Jack horribly mispronounced: Rikimaru.The shop housed around five people slurping their ramen. Angela ordered the bonsai ramen in her broken Japanese and sat down to eat when it was ready. The chef placed the steaming bowl in front of her. The broth was dark brown, the noodles thick and topped generously with garnishes. Angela's stomach rumbled, reminding her how hungry she truly was. Coffee with nothing else wasn’t exactly the best source of sustenance. Using her chopsticks to pick up a heaping bite of steaming noodles, her tongue was just moments away from pure deliciousness when a yell made her abruptly stop.“Soba!” it said.Every part of her that had experienced front-line battle was ready to jump out of her seat.The sound of tiny claws scratching against concrete came closer and closer from outside.“Soba! Come back here!” the voice yelled in Japanese. “Dammit!"A flash of green invaded the ramen shop. It leaped onto the counter in a blur, landing directly in Angela’s ramen and splashing her face. Angela leaped out of her seat with a yelp, wiping the scalding ramen from her face, noodles and all strewn in her hair. Dazed, she wiped the broth from her eyes to come face to face with a little, glowing, dog-sized…Dragon?The dragon stuck out a pink tongue and leaped into Angela’s arms, its surprising weight nearly knocking her backward. It crawled across her shoulders and onto the top of her head, lapping up the noodles throughout her mop of broth-soaked hair.A handsome man around Angela's age with green hair and a tattoo sleeve burst into the shop, skidding to a stop at the entrance when he found Soba on the top of her head.At the sight of the man, the five people who were eating their ramen got up and left without a word.“Soba!” The man growled. “I'm sorry about my dragon,” he apologized in English, dipping into a quick bow. “He’s…” the man reached up to grab the dragon, but it crawled behind Angela’s neck and hissed. “…very—I swear, Soba!—hyper.”“I can tell,” Angela finally said with a weak smile. “Here, let me…" The man leaned forward, stretching his arms out. Angela took a step back. "I promise he won’t hurt you, he’s all bark and no bite." The man reached around Angela's neck to grab the dragon. The scent of rich cologne filled her nostrils as his neck was exposed to her. Angela had to admit, it was the best thing she'd ever smelled besides a fresh cup of coffee.The dragon hissed and spat as it fought to stay with her, the heat of its belly pressed against her nape. Despite the fight it put forth, the dragon was no match for the strength of the man's grip. It twisted and thrashed in his hands like an oversized noodle hanging between a pair of chopsticks. The man closed his eyes, letting out a breath, and the dragon relaxed, mirroring the man's calmness, then disappeared into a green, glowing mist. The tattoo that covered the man's entire right arm glowed faintly, then burned out. As Angela's shock faded and she pieced together everything that had happened, she realized the man before her was Genji Shimada, one of the prime targets of Blackwatch. Angela had heard about him in several briefings, from his looks to his demeanor to his personality. "He's a playboy, so to speak," Reyes had said. "An outcast of the family."Angela reached for the communication transmitter she kept at her ear.“Again, I’m sorry about my dragon,” the man said after opening his eyes, the color a striking, near-gray. He reached up to pick some of the noodles out of her hair, and the scent of him climbed back up to her. Angela was frozen by the man’s gentleness, how his fingers hardly swept a hair out of place, how his eyes sparkled with concentration, noodle-by-noodle.This is an heir to the Shimada Clan, a ruthless crime organization. Angela reminded herself. Her finger hovered next to her ear, ready to press the button, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.“That’s good enough,” he finished, then asked for a rag from the cook, catching it in one hand. Angela took it from Genji, hesitantly wringing out her hair. Next, Genji turned to the cook and tossed him some coins, then said with a wink, “Make another one for her, on me.”“No, no, I’m alright,” Angela insisted.Genji shrugged it off with a cocky grin, no doubt the grin of a privileged rich boy. “If you won’t have it, then I will. This place is my favorite.”Genji sat at one of the stools and motioned for her to join him. With a tilted eyebrow, she did.“You’re not going to clean the mess your little dragon made?” she asked, motioning to the spilled ramen across the counter and the floor.Genji gave the mess a mere glance. “He’ll do it,” he said, pointing to the cook who was filling Genji’s bowl with broth.“That’s rude,” Angela stated.“Pfft,” was all he said. He rested his cheek in his hand, his sharp jaw shifting as he decided his next words. “Anyway, what’s a pretty foreigner like you doing here so late?”“What is a man like you doing out so late with his crazy dragon?” Angela asked, avoiding his question. The last thing she needed was to reveal she was a part of Overwatch.Genji smiled with his teeth, revealing perfect pearls. “He leads me to people like you.”“Ah? And what does that mean?" she asked with a laugh.
Genji met her laugh with his own, the sound warm and gentle. "It means you are very attractive."That made Angela laugh again. "Quite cheesy, but I'll take it."When the cook handed Genji the bowl, he swiftly got up from his seat and pushed it in front of Angela with a single finger.“My name is Genji, by the way. I hope I’ll see you again soon,” he said, walking backward out of the doorway.Angela picked up the chopsticks and rolled her eyes, not realizing she was genuinely smiling for the first time in a while. “Likewise.”